Point of No Return

A Raisin in the Sun
by Lorraine Hansberry
Question 12

At the end of the play, there is a very important event that I believe is a turning point for Walter, a point of non return.  He changes drastically, and because of this, he and his family will never be the same.  At first I thought it was when Walter swore to grovel in front of the white man from the fancy neighborhood so that they could get paid to not move into the all-white area.  Walter wanted the money so bad, he was willing to sacrifice his dignity to get it.  But when the white committee member shows up, Walter suddenly develops an abundance of courage and tells the man right to his face that they refuse to back down and that his family would be moving into the neighborhood calmly and that he would just have to accept it.  Walter's dignity and pride manifested itself and he recaptured his manhood.  Walter tells the man the the family doesn't want his money and they will deal with whatever problems come along, just like any other family would.
Beneatha says to Mama, "He finally came into his manhood today, didn't he? Kind of like a rainbow after the rain..." (Hansberry, 151).  Beneatha uses this charming simile to contradict and disprove what she said about Walter not being a man and  how there was nothing left to love.  Walter proved that he is a strong, willful man, and he will never go back.